Day Five: The Wish

I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not quite sure how it came about that we decided to cruise. I think after the last Disney trip I was looking online and they had a sale 50% off of deposits. And as I was looking at cruises realized that they were actually more affordable than I thought and one thing led to another and I booked it. Not only did I book it but I booked it more than a year in advance. It was a really good plan because I had something to look forward to for an incredibly long time. And that really works for me apparently. 

I wasn't sure how cruising was going to go. C sometimes gets motion sickness from bad turbulence on an airplane So I bought all the Dramamine. It was almost ridiculous and I kept saying to Husband should I buy more Dramamine? But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Friday morning we woke up early because we had to pack our bags. Bell Services was coming to pick them up around 7:00 a.m. and we hadn't packed at all. Husband and I did manage to get them primarily packed before the kids woke up. M was fully under the covers. It made me smile. I love sleeping kids.

As it turns out my friend and C's godmother was coming to Disney that day. But because at home we were getting our second big storm of the week, she also flew out early and was staying at the airport hotel. That morning I asked if she made it okay and she told me she was just having breakfast at the Caribbean beach resort. Well, that's just one Skyliner stop away from where we were. So we invited her over and we got to hang out with her. 

First, we toured the Cars area of the resort because we hadn't done that yet. It was really cute. I'm not sure that I would stay at Art of Animation again, I'm really a fan of the deluxe resorts as it turns out, but if I did I would request the cars area because it was super cute.

Let it be known that I was 100% crabby because I hadn't gotten a ton of sleep and I was super stressed out about our cruise transportation. Well, when we were in the Cars area I heard from our agent. She called the cruise line, all was going to be fine but I needed to check in with the cruise line agent in the lobby at about 8:30/9:00. 

I really thought that I would get into the Disney bubble and not really think about anything again until we were heading to the airport. While it wasn't nearly that seamless, and we do know what went wrong for the future, it also wasn't that bad. What happened was during the Disney Cruise Line Check In, which is kind of a long process, the site kept glitching. So I entered Art of Animation as our pick-up spot and during one of the glitches it reverted to MCO as our pick-up spot. It really ultimately didn't matter at all. 

So we mobile ordered our breakfast and it took over 45 minutes. Apparently, they never notified us that it was ready. When they did notify us it still wasn't ready cuz they were remaking it. I was less than impressed. Husband and C had gone to the room to collect all of our backpacks and everything to make sure that we were where we needed to be to get on the bus to the port. Husband was thrilled with me. He got more sleep than I did, but not enough to not be crabby too. We were a real pair. 

We said goodbye to Kathryn, checked in with the person, waited a whole bunch in the lobby, and then it was finally time to board the bus! I was so excited. It's apparently about an hour-long ride. I was shocked that AOA had its own bus of people. There were like 6 different families but for the most part, the bus was pretty empty. Each cruise has its own Facebook page, and I knew there were people staying at other resorts on the property. I wonder how they allocate the buses? 

But I primarily snoozed through it which was just fine with me. When the driver announced we were getting close I cried again. Let's just go on record and say on this vacation if I was really happy I cried. It was just so beautiful to see The Wish. 

I had specifically chosen The Wish as our ship because of the Arendelle restaurant. But then Nat Geo and Disney Plus had their Wish documentary that came out after we booked and it just made me even more excited for the whole thing. 

I knew going into it that by taking Disney transportation we would have an easier time boarding the ship and that we would board pretty darn early. I didn't realize how easy it would be or how early it would be compared to other passengers. It was so slick we basically walked right on. It took approximately 8 minutes in the port building. Plus our luggage was going to meet us at our room without us having to do anything.

We got on board and one of the cool things is you tell them your name and then they announce you. "Welcome aboard to the P family!" This will shock you but I cried. 

It wasn't all magical so don't get me wrong. The adults were still cranky. Husband had mistakenly packed my phone cord that worked with the bonus battery in the checked luggage so my phone was on its last leg. And I mean like I was at 5% battery. So I couldn't get the cruise line app to work which would have our whole schedule and dining rotation and everything we needed to know on it. 

I love him and he was definitely not the planner for this trip. So he was woefully unprepared to be in charge of guiding us and he was just mad at me for not telling him I needed the cord. And I was just frustrated with him for packing the cord in the first place because he obviously should have known. Plus I was overtired and that is not a good place in my world. Marriage. Keeps things interesting doesn't it? 

We got magic wands for a wishing ceremony in the grand lobby. It was sweet but I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have since I was panicked about not having a schedule. M and I hit the restroom, cruise restrooms are funny. We walked around just a little bit and headed to the kid's club for their open house. 

About 2 weeks before our sailing, Disney changed their policy on ages for the kid's club and it was now 10 and under. Which meant C was in the tween club with no check-in and check-out policy. We were all disappointed but decided to make the best of it by going to the club during the open house. 

After both kids checked out the area and we did the roller coaster simulators we headed up to the pool deck for some lunch. The pool deck had great options! Everyone ate and then the kids changed into their bathing suits. C ran off to ride the Aquamouse. The Aquamouse is the first Disney attraction at sea. Mostly it's a water slide ride with a little movie first. M jumped in a pool. Then they both ran off to ride the Aquamouse. I watched Aladdin on the funnel vision screen and just basked in the partly cloudy warmth. 

Again, I knew the benefit of boarding early was the lines would be short but I didn't quite appreciate how short they were until later. We could just walk up and get any food or drink we wanted. The kids rode the Aquamouse four times each with almost no line to speak of. 

At about 1:30 Husband wandered off to see if he could find our stateroom. And to check to see if the luggage was there yet. He came back and it was! So that was great We rounded up the kids and headed down to check out our stateroom. 

The kids changed and we got situated in our room. I plugged my phone in! And at 3:55 we went to the Luna Theatre Balcony for our required Muster Drill. It wasn't a big deal. 

After the Muster Drill, we headed to the pool deck again for Mickey's Sail Away Party. This was the BIG thing I was looking forward to the most. We got a spot on the railing and it was everything I wanted. Do you watch the Macy's parade? It's the song they sang at the float this year. (And also... thank you to the 2022 Macy's parade for being the catalyst for us going on the cruise in the first place or at least getting the idea in our heads. Because upon reflection, it was right after our trip, we saw the float and said "that could be fun!" Which led to me looking at them as previously stated.) 

The whole thing made me cry and gave me goosebumps. Again, it was cloudy but warm and humid, and felt like Florida! 

When we did the countdown and the horn played the first 7 notes of "When You Wish Upon a Star" I was done for. And then we pulled away from port and we were sailing! 

So The Wish has rotational dining for dinner. You're assigned one of three restaurants each evening and your wait staff travels with you. We were set up for Main Dining at 5:45 daily. So we had just a little bit of time to kill. I waited in line at Guest Services because my Magic Band was a dud. They had to reset it at Epcot. They set it up in the port but once on board, it didn't work. 

The guest services cast member was getting so mad at it too. She seriously went to ask her manager's permission to gift me a new one and that's when it started to connect. And while I am so grateful to her for getting it working, I am glad I didn't need to accept a new one because it wouldn't have been engraved with my name like the dud one and I would have just felt bad. 

I found the kids playing shuffleboard, which really feels like a cruise ship thing to do. 

Our first dinner was at the Worlds of Marvel dinner. We met our servers and had a delicious meal! We aren't big Marvel movie watchers but they recommended Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp to watch beforehand to know what was going on at the dinner show. So we did and not only did we enjoy those movies quite well but it did make the dinner more fun! 

At the end of the meal, Spider-Man even came around quick! 

Every evening there were a million entertainment options including a live show. M just wanted to go to the kid's club. So we dropped her off and she was happy! 

This was the only night where the sea bugged me a little. I am not positive if it was the sea or just that I was really really tired and on fumes but my head was tingly. I did end up taking a Dramamine before the Seas the Adventure show. I don't think it did anything, so I am pretty sure I was just tired. It was however the only Dramamine taken on the ship by anyone. No one had ANY problems at all. Admittedly, the bulk of our time we were at ports but still, no sea sickness at all!

Seas the Adventure was fine. Some technical difficulties stopped the show for a few minutes and a bunch of people left which was too bad. We stayed. 

After it was over, I sent Husband to Nightingales, one of the adult-only lounges to listen to some music that was his genre of choice. I picked up M and we sat in the grand lobby for the Wish goodnight. They did this every night at 10, 11 and 12 but we only experienced it this once. 

Basically, the clock strikes 10 and the whole ceiling and chandelier put on a light show to music and everyone says goodnight. It's very cool. All in all, it was a pretty darn good snow day for the kids!

After that though, we headed back to our stateroom, got into pajamas, and went to sleep. Our house is very small, so we didn't think anything of our inside stateroom. Furthermore, 3/4 of us sleep with eye masks on to block out light so not having a window was not a problem. 

The towel/blanket creations were always a highlight for us! 

Jumping ahead here... I slept like I was dead. I know I was exhausted but I truly slept so well. And it was so delightful. There are many reviews about the Disney Cruise Line Mattresses... they're all true. And the gentle rocking of the boat in the total darkness... it was almost like being back in the womb. Such a good sleep! 

By the time we all woke up, we were docked in Nassau! 

Day Four: Magic Kingdom

Well, we accomplished a lot at Epcot. And it was nothing compared to our day at Magic Kingdom. And I am not sad about it. It was a full day. 

We were all up and at 'em. Ate mini muffins and applesauce in the hotel room and then got in line for the bus. We didn't have to wait long and we were on our way. I attempted a new technique to not get stopped at security: I gave C the water bottle, M the sunscreen, I held my phone and bonus battery in front of me and so did Husband and... we didn't trigger the alarm! 

So it really is about distributing the metal so there's not too much in one backpack. I am pleased to know this tip and will continue to use it in future trips. So we got into MK and I teared up like I do when I walk down Main Street. There's just something about it. 

That first glimpse of the castle... it just gets me. We bopped over to the early entry area and waited with a large crowd. Again, our plan was WILDLY different than most based on our own hopes and dreams of Magic Kingdom. 

While we were waiting I took a pic at Mirabel's new spot. This was the only thing I wanted to accomplish at MK so I was thrilled to spot it. Mirabel was going to come at 9:00. 

At 8:30 with early entry... we went to Dumbo. An unconventional choice but we were the first ride of the day and that was fun! It's M's favorite. And a classic so who can blame her? 

Then we went to Little Mermaid while that was still a walk on. C and M marveled over all the people who were in line for Seven Dwarves Mine Train just waiting. It was like a wait time of over an hour at the get go of the day. Aren't we all glad that we are not the cast member holding the lollipop that says "End of Line wait time 90 minutes" or whatever? That's got to be a thankless job. 

After that we went to meet Mirabel. Was I disappointed we were not first in line? Yes, I was. Were we in the first of the groups that was allowed in? Yes. Yes, we were. 

We made these shirts for our last trip but M and I updated them for this trip. They're from Encanto and say "My Family's Amazing, and I'm in my family so..." And Mirabel noticed them right away and it made the character interaction so great! 

So then we went to get a Gaston cinnamon roll and a LeFou's Brew because they came highly recommended by our friends we saw on Tuesday. 

I'm going to be honest, I could give or take a cinnamon roll on a good day and on a Disney day when I just wanted to do more things I personally felt it was a waste of time, but the kids really liked it and obviously we were on this trip for everyone not just what I wanted. Plus, Hangry M is no fun to be around. 

But then we went to ride Seven Dwarves Mine Train. 

M screamed the entire time. Even when it wasn't scary. And then got off and asked when we could go again. She keeps me on my toes that kid. 

So now I get to the portion of the day where I will not have a picture for everything we did in the essence of time: it's a small world, Mickey's Philharmagic, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Main Street USA to get a spot for the parade and a snacky lunch at Casey's Corner while we waited for the parade to make it to Main Street. This worked so well!! I am glad we did this! The kids might look grumpy, but they weren't! 

After the parade ended we booked it over to Tomorrowland! Where we did everything we wanted to do. Buzz Lightyear, People Mover, Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland Speedway

M LOVED driving the car. She was however terrible at it. We let her get a driver's license after. $7 well spent! Then we hit Monster's Inc Laugh Floor just in time for a show to start with no wait! Nice! 

We did not attempt Tron, had promised M there would be no Space Mountain though I did offer to take C just the two of us, but he declined. Weirdly, he's never been on it and I don't know why he thinks that would be super scary or something. I know he'd love it. We also skipped Astro Orbiter. Because we did that in 2022 and the combination of the height and the angle you sit in makes it a little intense. And Husband has put it in the "never again" ride list. (Like the teacups for me.) :) 

With Tomorrowland as conquered as it was going to be we bopped back over to Adventureland for Aladdin's Flying Carpets, Dole Whip snack, then through the tunnel to Frontierland for Country Bear Jamboree. And it is interesting to note it was PACKED. Like so so crowded. The cast member said it was the biggest group she had ever had in there. 

Then we went to check out the construction of Tiana's Bayou Adventure. C was interested. 

We had an early dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern that we all really very much enjoyed. And now I only have one table service restaurant I haven't been to at MK. 

After dinner, we rode the carousel. Husband and I got the bench and we loved that experience! We were full from dinner and didn't feel much like going around and up and down. 

Then we rode the Barnstormer. Our plan was to take the train over to Frontierland but we missed the last one of the evening much to C's disappointment. (It was my fault... I said we should look at the Big Top souvenir place.) So we hiked to Jungle Cruise and then immediately walked into Tiki Room which had never happened to us before. We've always had to sit through the preshow at the waterfall. Then we went to Peter Pan. 

We watched the Fireworks from Fantasyland. So there were no projections or barely any, but also no crowd and I was a happy mom! While we watched fireworks we got the notification that school was canceled the next day. 

Then we rode Pooh and made our way out. Stopping for castle pics, shopping at the emporium, and calling my mom from a well-lit Main Street. 

We left at about 9:00 pm so it was a full 12.5 day in Magic Kingdom and we accomplished a heck of a lot. The train and Hall of Presidents being the things we wished we had snuck in but we missed the train and I couldn't convince the kids Hall of Presidents was worth it. Just so we're clear, I was texting Husband our itinerary throughout the days so I could reference it later to recap. You're so welcome. 

Now the fun didn't end. (Well... the next bit wasn't fun exactly.) After we had the kids showered and asleep I realized we hadn't heard about what time our transportation from the resort to the cruise was. I fired off some emails and texts to my travel agent but it was 11:00 pm so I wasn't hopeful I'd hear. I called the main dispatch and the front desk and they told me to call the cruise line and they opened at 8:00. 

So after determining I wouldn't be able to sleep until I had figured it out, I walked to the front desk in the misty rain. (Which was only annoying because I had just showered and dried my hair.) The absolute best front desk person named Caitlyn helped me for over 30 minutes. She got everything straightened out, made sure bell services would come to get our bags on time, and she calmed me down. Because let me tell you, I was exhausted and mostly just panicked we would miss the ship! Even though we had paid for transportation!

Caitlyn was for sure the hero of the story that day in the middle of the night. Because it was like 12:15 AM. And she was upbeat but not annoyingly so and so confident that everything was going to be fine. I absolutely went and talked to her manager in the morning AND filled out a comment card AND mentioned her in my post-stay survey. 

I finally went to sleep about 1:00 AM and that was the conclusion of our Magic Kingdom Day! 

Day Three: Epcot

*I know that reading full recaps of Disney trips might not be all that interesting to you. But this is for me! 

Wednesday was our Epcot day! Epcot is my favorite of the parks! And usually my feet hurt, I swear it's the park where you do the most walking too. So we opted to put it first and I am so glad that we did. 

We left our room at about 6:45 to get in line for the Skyliner. I read a ton of reviews and some people really dislike the walk from Little Mermaid. I didn't think it was a big deal at all, to be honest. 

While we were standing in line the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy opened and we did not get a spot. This made me deeply unhappy so ultimately, I decided to buy the ILL (Individual Lightning Lane) for the 4 of us. Still cheaper than a day of Genie +. 

We rode the Skyliner but we got off at Riviera Resort first. It's the newest resort and I loved it so much! We had breakfast at Topolino's Terrace and I loved every stinkin' second. It was so lovely. We met Artist Mickey, Poet Minnie, Ballerina Daisy and Sculptor Donald. 

M's waffle dippers were the cutest thing I have ever seen!! There was syrup, raspberry sauce that was absolutely heavenly and almost a Nutella dip for the waffles. 

I had the steak and eggs and I am not kidding when I say that I think it was the best steak I have ever had. I really loved this breakfast and it was PERFECT for a day at Epcot!

Also, can we have a chat about Florida in January? Because I loved doing Disney when it wasn't hot. Cool mornings required a sweatshirt but once we got going we were all very comfortable in our shorts or capris and tees. 

At home it was a 2 hour late start! Yay for missing less school than planned! 

After breakfast we Skyliner-ed over to Epcot and in through International Gateway. Now my priorities for Epcot might be wildly different than your priorities for Epcot so do not follow this touring plan for yourself if it doesn't make sense for you. Our day looked like this: 

Met Winnie the Pooh in Christopher Robin's room. 

Met Asha from Wish. (We really loved that movie, I know it got poor reviews but we loved it.) 

Gran Fiesta Tour, Frozen, Soarin', Living with the Land, Nemo, Spaceship Earth, Pictures with the new Walt Disney Statue. 

It was very bright at this point and C was so excited to take the picture but all the ones of him looking he is squinty. 

Journey Into Imagination with Figment. When we got off the ride Figment was just leaving for a break. Which wasn't great since the kids were in Figment shirts specifically to meet him... so we went and rode Frozen again and then came back to meet Figment. 

We checked out the new Journey Through Water with Moana. It was really well done. C said "I can't believe Disney keeps out Disneying themselves." 

After that, we went back to take pictures with Walt when it wasn't so bright. But still no great picture. Then it was time to ride Guardians of the Galaxy. Now you need to know that this wasn't all sunshine and roses. M had LOST her mind about Guardians. She literally cried over it multiple times. Not her best moment of the trip and my reaction was not a great one either. 

But I had paid for it, it was non-refundable and sometimes that girl is a wimp for no reason because she likes the drama of it all? But Emilie told her it was scary and that was enough. I mentioned all the people who didn't think it was scary and that had no impact. Even her friend's little brother with photo evidence! I honestly don't know. We for the most part take it easy with big rides but I am also of the mindset that you can't know you don't like something if you don't try it. 

So we negotiated her going on Guardians and stopping freaking out over it if she didn't have to ride Space Mountain or Tron the next day. Sold. (Wasn't going to try to get Tron anyway, and I like Space Mountain but this was a deal that was coming out better for me anyway.) 

Honestly? It was so not as bad as I expected. The show before the ride was awesome. The ride itself was way less spinny than I was expecting. (I do not do spinny rides, the tea cups for instance make me want to die.) It was SO smooth and I loved rocking out to the music. We had I ran (so far away) by Flock of Seagulls. Which of course is the one song on the playlist that I think my kids don't really know. But I liked it and would for sure go again. 

M agreed it wasn't too bad. But she never wants to do it again. Lol. The picture absolutely makes me die laughing. I am just having fun and watching M who has her eyes closed. C is all into it and Husband could be on its a small world. 

Then we stopped by Club Cool to try the different Coke products from around the world. The Royal from the Philippines was a nice raspberry and we all liked it. 

We took the Friendship boat from Canada to Morocco. It's about a 3 minute boat ride that saves you 15 minutes of walking. 

The boys went to ride Ratatouille while the girls chilled out in France. M met Belle. We girls don't like Remy... the spinning and the 3D gives me a headache! 

After the boys joined us we went to the Beauty and the Beast Sing-a-long. Which was awesome. 

Then we had dinner. The kids in the American pavilion and the adults had Fish and Chips in England. During dinner, we made a plan that involved missing the nighttime spectacular in Epcot. Honestly, I did really want to see it, but it was going to be late and we'd have to kill like 2 hours before it would even start and no one had anything else they really wanted to do. 

We went to see the Canada movie which if you do go to Epcot you should not skip. It's delightful and the Canada song is my absolute favorite to sing! We should have gone twice in a row. 

But we didn't and after the movie, we headed back to the skyline, said goodbye to Epcot, and went to the room and to sleep. Well the kids went to sleep, and the grownups did laundry. But then we went to sleep. 

It was a full and fun day!